I remember too
well,
the smell of
the fresh cut grass,
the flickering
of the sunlight
as it moves
behind the treetops,
the black roof
tiles hot under my bare feet,
the beat of my
heart—boom, boom.
I was too
small to be noticed,
too quiet too
be heard
but I
eavesdropped from above.
Little words,
little movements
didn’t turn my
gaze from the sun
as she smiled
down on me,
lifting me
towards her bosom
and warming me
in her arms.
Until clouds
parted us and the sky turned gray.
Suddenly cold,
suddenly noticing
the mood in
the air had changed.
From below me
I heard their words
turn loud and
violent,
their
movements abrupt and irate,
their faces
from love to hate,
like a hammer
against glass as it breaks—boom, boom.
My eyes dilated
at the sight.
I stumbled as
I reversed my steps,
diving back
through the window I came.
I ran to my
bed, pulled the covers up
and squeezed my
eyelids closed.
Disappear, disappear
stupid memory,
but the image
replayed again and again
like a broken movie
projector in my mind,
with the sound
echoing in my ears—boom, boom.
The grip of
his fist,
the red in her
eyes,
the fire
igniting rage.
Too soon the
victor, who held the rod,
put the other
in their grave.
Haunting me the rest of my days.Boom, boom.
